A DRAMATIC retelling of the story of our nation’s best known battle was long overdue; so I was really looking forward to King and Conqueror (BBC 1, Sundays, first episode 24 August), starring James Norton as Harold Godwinson, and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Duke William. We all know how it ends, of course: with an arrow in Harold’s eye and Duke William being known ever after as “the Conqueror”, but this series takes eight episodes to tell the story of the complex events which led to that famous battle in Hastings in 1066.
Our two male leads both put in punchy, charismatic performances which might have you rooting for both of them to be king, but it was Juliet Stephenson’s performance as Edward the Confessor’s mother, Emma, which impressed me the most. She is malevolently majestic, whereas Eddie Marsan’s King Edward is portrayed as a simpleton, whose piety is symptomatic of madness.
A fair few liberties are taken with the facts, all in service to the plot and development of the characters. If it’s historical accuracy you’re after, The Rest is History podcast recently did an excellent exploration of all things 1066, but, if you’re mostly untroubled by the minutiae and just enjoy a good story, you’ll find this drama very entertaining.
Jamie Oliver’s latest offering, Jamie: Eat yourself healthy (Channel 4, Monday of last week) lost me in the first few minutes, at the mention of cottage cheese. Then, he added mashed-up beans to his meatballs, which my Italian husband declared was unforgivable. The messaging has changed since the days when he was making a one-pan fry-up with his pals after a night out. Diversity is now the word of the day, along with making “health-promoting choices”. So, now, not only do I have to feed the five other people in my house, I have to feed my gut microbes, too. It all felt a bit old hat. Several prominent influencers have been pushing this message for years, and it’s not one I want from Jamie. Let me eat cake!
The Dog House (Channel 4, Thursday of last week) returned for more heart-warming stories of would-be owners being matched with their perfect rescue animal. I get seriously over-invested in the redemption arc of each dog, some of whom have heart-breaking back stories. This episode featured both a Spanish street dog, Billy, who spent time cowering underneath the sofa, in terror of loud noises, and Bear, the Yorkie cross, who was given up because of his excessive barking.
Seeing abandoned dogs find loving homes and becoming someone’s best friend is a comforting watch. It’s a reminder that there may well be terrible things happening in the world, but at least some of them are fixable. Thank God we still have dogs.